Talking To Strangers
by Lily Yamamoto
Summary: Tiana was having a great time at Charlottes when her mother needed to go to the store. Tiana decided not to go in. Who does she meet as she's sitting on the bench watching the people go by? -pre movie-


Tiana slipped her shoes on in excitement. This morning, she and her mother would take a street car and head over to the La Bouff mansion; her mother was asked to tailor one of Mr. La Bouff's suits and it was the perfect time for Tiana and Charlotte to play.

"Tiana, let's make our way over there." Her mother called.

"Just a minute mama!" Tiana yelled back.

She hopped to her closet to grab her coat; her mama always said "You'll catch your death of cold" unless she wore her coat. She took her princess crown and placed it precisely atop her head. She turned to her mirror to inspect her appearance.

'Perfect' she thought striking a pose, a smile plastered on her face.

"Tiana! Now, I don't wanna be late for a customer. You don't want your mama to get fired, do you babycakes?"

Tiana ran back to her mother.

"I'm ready Mama!" she stated in glee.

"Well, then, let's go, princess baby cakes" her mother laughed and mock bowed.

The mothers took her daughter's hand and were on their way to the street car.

The car wasn't as crowded as it usually was this time of day and they were able to find a comfortable seat. Tina pressed her little face and hands against the glass to watch the pretty houses go by. As the street car moved on, the houses became larger and more grand.

"Hey, Mama, do you think I could live in a house like that someday?" she asked.

Her mother smiled her warm smile and replied "Maybe someday, babycakes."

It wasn't long before they reached the La Bouff mansion. Hopping off of the street car, Tiana could only stare in awe at the house's glorious pillars and high ceilings.

'Wow…" she always thought.

"Come on, darlin', I bet Charlotte is waiting for you." Her mother said.

Hand in hand, they walked up the multiple steps and rang the doorbell.

'Ding, dong'

To the surprise of Tiana and her mother, Mr. La Bouff opened the door.

"Good mornin' Eudora, little Tiana." He greeted.

"Good morning Mr. La Bouff. Where's Linda? She usually greets us at the door." Eudora asked.

"Oh, I gave her the day off. It seems her little Ruthie has a cold and need taking care of. Come on in, Charlottes been waiting for you, Tiana. CHARLOTTE! TIANA'S HERE!"

From the second story, a faint squeal was heard and crescendoed louder and louder until a little blonde girl in a poofy pink dress ran down the staircase, almost tripping on her way down.

"Tia, Tia! I got a new story book! Mrs. Tia's mama, can you read it to us?" Little Charlotte asked.

"Not right now, Charlotte," her father started "Eudora need to take out my new suit. It's getting a little snug from the first time I tried it on."

"But Daddy!!! Please, please, please, please!" she begged.

"Er, um, Eudora? Do you think after you measure…"

"Sure, Mr. La Bouff, I'd love to."

"Thank you Eudora. You girls go play and be nice to that cat of yours. Now, Eudora, my suit is getting a little tight around the middle area…"

"Yay! Come on Tiana!" Charlotte cried, grabbing Tiana's hand.

The two bounded up the stairs into Charlotte's fluffy, pink room.

"So what do you wanna do Lottie?" Tiana asked.

"I don't know. I wanted you see my new princess book." She replied disappointed.

"Didn't you say that Linda was teachin' you how to read?"

"I guess. I could try. You wanna make a fort first to read in?"

"You know I do!" Tiana replied gleefully.

The two then proceeded to gather as many pillows as they could find and arrange them on the pink carpeted floor. They set up two chairs in the middle to hold the blanket up. Charlotte and Tiana ripped the pink comforter off of the canopy bed and threw it over the chairs, leaving a big enough opening for light to stream in so that Charlotte could read.

"Okay, it's perfect. Let me get my princess book and the kitty. Oh kitty!" she called.

A distant meow was heard and a reluctant cat entered the room.

"Come here, kitty kitty!" Charlotte squealed. The poor cat walked slowly up to his owner and she roughly picked him up.

"Meow…" he cried.

She practically threw the cat into the fort with Tiana and went to grab her story book.

"What what is the book anyway?" Tiana asked.

"It's called 'Snow White'. Linda read it to me once. It's good, but not as good as 'The Frog Prince'!" Charlotte proclaimed.

'Yuck, frog kisses' Tiana thought.

"Well, okay Lottie, get to readin'!"

"I'm readin', I'm readin', hold your horses." She complained.

Tiana gingerly picked up the kitty and placed him on her lap, stroking his fur gently. He purred with delight.

"Wuh-wuh wuuuhnce once. Uh-uh-uhpppohn a t-t-tim- time." Charlotte struggled.

"You know, Charlotte, maybe we should wait for my mama to come up and read to us."

Charlotte put the book down and sighed.

"Maybe you're right, I could use more practice." She said.

So, the two waited inside their make shift fort, waiting for Tiana's mother to come in the room. They played with the cat, or in Charlotte's case attacked the cat, until then.

A creek was heard at the door.

"How are my two favorite princess doin'?" Eudora asked.

"Mama, could you read us the story now? Lottie wasn't doin' much of a good job!" Tiana asked laughing.

Charlotte stuck out her tongue. "At least I was trying!" she countered.

"Alright, alright, let me settle and I'll start reading" she said.

Eudora set the book upright on Charlotte's desk and threaded her needle.

"Right now, 'Once upon a time…'"

* * *

Tiana and Charlotte were cuddled up in the in the fort, Charlotte's cat in the middle of them.

"And just when all hope was lost, a handsome prince rode u on his noble steed to see Snow White sleeping soundly on her bed. He jumped off of this horse and walked toward the sleeping princess. The dwarves surrounded the prince to see what he was going to do."

A smile gleamed on Charlotte's face and there was even a smile on Tiana's.

"Then, the handsome prince leaned his head down and kissed Snow White's cold lips. Suddenly, Snow White's eyes fluttered open. The dwarves were so happy that they started to dance with joy. The charmin' prince picked up Snow White and carried her to his steed and the two rode off into the sunset. The end."

"Wow…" Charlotte said in awe.

"Well, at least she didn't have to kiss a frog!" Tiana stated.

Charlotte threw a pink pillow at Tiana's head and Tiana threw one in retaliation, causing the girls to have a pillow fight.

"Girls, stop now! You're scaring the poor kitty." Eudora yelled.

The girls stopped mid battle to see Charlotte's kitty had run under the bed, gripping the carpet for dear life.

"How is everything goin'?" Mr. La Bouff asked as he popped his head through the door.

"Just fine. I do need to get some fabric for your suit though. It should be done by tomorrow" Eudora replied.

"That's fine; I don't need it until the weekend. Here" He said handing her a five dollar bill for the fabric.

"Come on Tiana, say good bye to Charlotte. We've got to stop by the fabric shop before we head on home."

"Will we be back tomorrow?" Tiana asked.

"Well, I do need to bring Mr. La Bouff's suit back, it sure won't fit me" Eudora joked.

Tiana and Charlotte laughed while Mr. La Bouff chuckled.

"Okay, bye Lottie!"

"Bye Tia, I'll keep practicing and I'll read to you tomorrow!"

"You'll need more than a day though!" Tiana yelled as they left.

Eudora and Tiana exited the La Bouff mansion and walked to the quarter where most of the shops existed.

The music was louder there, the people were more enthusiastic there. And the food smelled just divine! After walking for awhile to the shop, Eudora turned to her daughter.

"Now, Tiana, Do you wanna come inside with me or wait our here on the bench?" she asked.

Tiana shuddered a bit. She hated going into that shop, it was so boring and it could take from 5 minutes to an hour to find what her mother needed.

"I'll just stay out here, Mama." Tiana decided

"Alright, stay here and don't talk to strangers."

"I know, Mama."

Eudora then entered the shop and Tiana went to sit on the bench and people watch. A man walked by with a suit and brief case.

'He must be a busy man.' She thought.

A street car came by full of folks.

It was a few people later when she heard a voice.

"Well would you look at that, it looks like I'm in the company of visiting royalty."

Tiana looked to her right to where she heard the voice. The first thing she noticed that this man was tall, even with his hat on. And by the looks of him, his favourite colour was purple. And you could see his tummy! He had a seemingly nice smile, but still…

"Um, I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, my mama said so." She said carefully.

"Well, that's very wise of your mama, isn't it? My name is Dr. Facilier." He said removing his hat. Tiana giggled at his rat's nest of hair. 'Why do they always laugh?' he thought.

"And you are?" he asked placing his hat on his head.

"I'm Tiana." She said.

"Well, we're not strangers now, are we?"

She giggled again "I guess not."

"Tiana, that's a lovely name. But doesn't that make you Princess Tiana? You're wearing a crown after all." He asked.

Tiana looked up at her crown. "Well, maybe, I guess."

"Then all hail Princess Tiana!" Dr. Facilier proclaimed.

Tiana laughed "Yes! All hail me!" She said throwing her hands into the air.

"Heh, heh." He laughed, sitting on the bench with her.

"So, Princess Tiana, what are you doin' out here by yourself?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for my mama."

"Is she in the material shop?"

"Uh-huh, I don't like going in there, it's so boring!"

"Heh heh, why is it boring?" he laughed, crossing his stick thin legs.

"It takes such a long time and Mama's just lookin' at fabric and thread and it all looks like the same colour to me and…"

"Slow down missy. If you go ramblin' on any faster your lips may fall off!"

"Oh, sorry. Hey you said that you were a doctor. What kind of doctor are you?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

"Well, I'm a doctor of many things." He replied vaguely.

"Like what?" she asked curiously.

"Here's my card." He said, a business card appearing in his hand.

Tiana took the card and stared for a minute. She had been learning to read like Charlotte, her father had been teaching her, but she was just as capable as Charlotte was today.

"What does it say?" she asked giving up.

"Sound it out."

"Mmm fine, D-dr. Fasssilllliiiiiaaaaaiiirrrrr…."

"Dr. Facilier." He corrected.

"Dr. Facilier" she repeated "Ch-chaaarms, po-, po-…"

"Potions." He corrected again.

"Potions. Dr-drem dreams mad- made r-r-reeeaall."

"See, there ya go!" he cheered.

Tiana thought for a moment.

"Are you a witch doctor?" she asked as her eyes grew wide.

"Now that's a little much, don't ya think? I like to think of myself as a 'magic man' of sorts. See there," he said pointing to the card "it says that I make dreams come true."

"Wow…" she said in awe.

"Well since you've asked me about my profession, what about you? If you're a princess, where's your prince charmin'?" he asked playfully.

"I don't have one; I'm only 6 and a half."

"Well, let's just see about that." He said while a deck of cards appeared in his hand. Dr. Facilier spread them out amongst his fingers.

"Pick a card." He said "And don't peek."

Tiana put her small hand over her eyes and picked a card.

"Now put it back"

She complied.

"Okay now watch" he said shuffling "You're card will magically rise to the top of the deck."

"Nuh-uh! How will I know which card is mine?" she asked in disbelief.

"Oh, you'll know. Watch"

He held his cards vertically and waved his hand over them. A card started to rise from the middle to the top facing her.

"Well, what do ya know? Says here that someday, you'll be having a royal weddin'" he said.

"Really? With who?" she asked excitedly.

"Now, I can't tell you that, it's not in the cards."

"Aw."

Suddenly, a horn was heard from around the corner and a band came along with it.

The doctor hopped to his feet.

"Well, Princess Tiana, may I have this dance?" he asked with a bow.

Tiana jumped to her feet and curtsied.

"Why yes you may!" she said.

Dr. Facilier took her hands and the two proceeded to dance. The banc noticed the display and stuck around for them. He spun her in circles and swung her through the air. What a sight they were! The music was so loud and she was having so much fun that she didn't notice the nearby door opening.

"TIANA!" a voice yelled after a moment of recognition.

The band took this as their cue to be on their way.

'Uh-oh' Tiana thought.

"Hi Mama."

"Tiana what are you doing? Didn't I tell you not to talk to strangers?" she asked, he hands on her hips and her face turning red.

"Well, yes but…he said his name and I said mine and … we figured that we weren't strangers anymore." She explained.

"That is no excuse young lady…"

"Ma'am," Dr. Facilier started. "There was no harm done. Why I could have been keeping her safe from monsters." He said with a knowing smile.

"Oh, there's only one monster that I know of livin' out here. Come on Tiana, it's time to go home." She said grabbing her daughter's hand.

"Bye Princess Tiana." He said with a small wave.

Tiana was too scared to wave back; she knew she was in trouble.

They waited for the street car in silence. When they boarded, Tiana asked "Mama, what's wrong? He was really nice, and he told me I was a princess and he helped me read!"

"Read what?" she asked.

Tiana showed her mother the Doctor's business card and she proceeded to toss it out of the street car window.

"Tiana, baby, don't you know who that was? That was the Shadowman."

"The Shadowman?" she asked as her eyes grew wide.

Her father and mother told her about all of the scary things that the Shadowman did; going into cemeteries and making the skeletons dance, stealing the souls of the little children who didn't go to bed on time. And their stories always ended with 'Stay away from the Shadowman.'

"Baby cakes, didn't your father and I tell you to stay away from him?" Eudora asked, having calmed down.

"Well, yes mama, but…you never really told me what he looks like. And he didn't say he was the shadow man, he said he was 'Dr. Facilier'" she responded truthfully.

"Hm, I guess we didn't. But now you know right? Please, Tiana stay away from him, he's a bad man."

"Yes mama" and the two headed home. Tiana promised to never talk to the Shadowman again, he was a scary man after all.

* * *

Dr. Facilier started to walk back to his emporium, whistling as he went

"Hm, Princess Tiana" he laughed "I'm sure we'll meet again…"

* * *

AN- to be honest i'm not entirely sure if i like this story, so some feed back would be lovely. I figured if our favourite Shadow man was charasmatic to adults, he should be charasmatic to children. And this just appeared. Enjoy!


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